Climate change and the environment

Climate change and environmental damage are two of the most dramatic challenges facing the world today. Many countries are already feeling the effects of climate change. In our part of the world, the changes in the Arctic region are particularly dramatic and worrying.

Photo: Bjørnulf Remme/Norad

Extreme weather events are more common than before, sea levels are rising, and droughts and floods are more frequent. Air pollution alone claims 7 million lives a year. Climate change and environmental damage are destroying ecosystems, with negative repercussions for development, health and food production. Climate change is exacerbating humanitarian disasters, fuelling conflict, and making certain areas uninhabitable. It is crucial that all countries do their part to prevent further loss and damage associated with climate change impacts. This work can save lives and assets, and reduce the need for humanitarian aid when a disaster strikes.

The world’s rain forests make up one the largest global carbon sinks, provide livelihoods for millions of people, and are home to more than half the world’s known animal and plant species. Norway allocates a significant amount of funding to REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries).

The Paris Agreement came into force in November 2016. It is the first global agreement that commits all countries to setting more ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Norway was among the first countries to ratify the agreement. The Paris Agreement gives reason to hope that the countries of the world can work together to prevent dangerous climate change.

AIMS

reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions so as to limit the global increase in temperature to less than 2˚C with the further aim of limiting the increase in temperature to 1.5˚C

enable vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change

reduce the consequences of natural disasters, including those caused by climate change